Archive for August, 2005

US Box Office

Sunday, August 14th, 2005

John Singleton’s new movie Four Brothers ruled the box office this week with $20.7 million. Starring Tyrese, Mark Wahlberg and Andre 3000 might have helped the outcome quite a bit.
Second was The Skeleton Key, Kate Hudson’s comeback after giving birth to her son, earning $15.8 million. Third was last week’s topper, The Dukes of Hazzard, with a steep drop to $13 million. Still strong and going are the Wedding Crashers, $12 million in its fourth week of release.
Vulgarity had to take a lower spot, Rob Schneider’s Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo rounds off the top five with $9.4 million.

Review: The Jacket

Sunday, August 14th, 2005

A typical low-budget thriller with supernatural elements mixed in. The result is actually something done before (traveling back and forth in time), and anyone into this stuff can actually predict the outcome. Directed with a really claustrophobic feel to it, it also employs flashy psychedelic visuals with flashback imagery to add to the confusion. Story-wise, it’s not too complicated, but the acting is quite good (Adrian Brody (his first real role after The Pianist) and Keira Knightley). Without something really special to offer, it’s just a nice movie, not a WOW movie that hits with a bang (like Memento did).7+.

Review: Extras 101 – 104

Saturday, August 13th, 2005

Climbing out of the pool of awards won for the 2 seasons (and one special) of The Office (both in the States and back home in Britain), Ricky Gervais and Stephan Merchant cook up a new comedy. Airing free on the BBC2 (the States will get it later this year, on the payed cable channel HBO), only 6 episode are produced again. Luckily, they all are quite funny. The premise (Ricky plays an extra, with every episode featuring another gig) is a rich environment, and the line up of guest stars is fabulous. Luckily, stories are not dependent on the guest spots (for instance, Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, Samuel L. Jackson and Patrick Stewart, all of them willing to play either an outrageous role, or an exaggerated charicature of themselves), and there’s still time to delve into the lives of the two principle characters (Ricky Gervais as Andy Millman and Ashley Jensen as Maggie Jacobs). It’s a shame 4 episodes have already aired, and the only thing to do is hope for more seasons to come.

Review: Magnum 5 Senses (series 2)

Saturday, August 13th, 2005

Still no real summer in sight, but the second batch of the Magnum 5 Senses series is already upon us (still €2.99 for a pack). Still containing 3 flavors, it means a comeback for Taste, the least special one from the first series (light caramel flavored).
New is Vision, strawberry flavored icecream with a bit of strawberry flavored sauce, covered in white chocolate. Melts away nicely, and flavor combines well. Then there’s Sound, the most special one of this batch. Dark chocolate covering coconut flavored icecream, with a bit of chocolate sauce. Sugary chunks are embedded in the coating, making up for a nice crunchy contrast. As I gave a grade for the whole box last time, I’ll do the same here.8.

Review: Mr. & Ms. Smith

Thursday, August 11th, 2005

Terrific pop-corn movie. Not so complicated story, and well executed. Balancing light-hearted humor with nice action sequences at a perfectly evolving pace.8-.

Listen and learn

Wednesday, August 10th, 2005

I’m about to shave off my mustache and goatee again, and with it THE White Hair of Wisdom. So, it’s time again for some words of wisdom:

Icecream can be eaten from a cup, a bowl, or a small plate. The wise choice is, of course, the small plate. Why ? That’s the only one you can lick clean after you’re done eating with your spoon.

Hot Chick Alert

Tuesday, August 9th, 2005

Yupz, that time again. And this time it’s Laura Harris. She’s blonde, she’s my age, and unluckily, not yet a rising star. Having an extensive guest stint on 24 2 years ago, she might have a few shots this year on The Dead Zone, as this screenshot shows. And while you look at the picture, I’ll be hoping for more TV appearances and hopefully more feature films (again, unluckily, she’s film another direct to video for next year).
Laura Harris

Review: In Good Company

Monday, August 8th, 2005

A solid soft-drama with good portions of work, family life and romance mixed in. It actually results in a lot of short stories, and the overall feeling isn’t too wonderful. The acting is good though, and any movie starring Scarlett Johansson warrants my attention, so even without the solid writing, it’s still enjoyable.7+.

How Messy is it at my Work Today ?

Monday, August 8th, 2005

Rate 1 (sucks) to 5 (cool). Only rate the latest pictures, otherwise I can’t keep track of the average.

Total: 758 out of 235 votes > Average is: 3.226

work pic

US Box Office

Sunday, August 7th, 2005

The remake winning streak at the box office is still not over, this time Jessica Simpson’s shorts are enticing enough to get $30.6 million worth of ticket sales for Johnny Knoxville/Seann William Scott starrer The Dukes of Hazzard.
Crashing less weddings than last week is The Wedding Crashers, with a runner-up spot with $16.5 million. Also selling less sweets is Johnny Depp starrer Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with $10.6 million.
At four, Sky High drops one place, with $9.1 million. Comedy Must Love Dogs rounds off the top five with $7.4 million.

Review: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Sunday, August 7th, 2005

Another fortunate event where waiting pays off (my motto has always been, just wait for the movie, it’ll save ya a lot of reading hours, which are better spent with CS online). Just like the book, this movie will ring a bell for sci-fi fans and nerds along, and will be weird for everyone else. As a movie, it’s a pretty well-rounded short story, filled with weightless silly jokes. Hence, even normal people in a giddy mood might enjoy it. As I’m a bit of both, it was light entertainment. While some people mark this book as a must read (If you use Google as a ranking system, using quotes and add must read as your query, The Bible ends up at 1 with 3.460.000 hits, second is this book with 625.000 hits, and third is The Da Vinci Code with 242.000 hits), but this movie certainly is not. Hence a solid average grade.7.

Review: Lays Sensations – Four Cheeses & Red Onion

Thursday, August 4th, 2005

Better forget the Sensations title and stuff it away under the heading Disappointments. Such a long title, but so little taste to savor. The thick crackling slices eat away like dried tough crackers, with a salty after taste. The normal Cheese-Onion had a distinct flavor, this one though, is pretty straightforward salty. Nothing more. Back to Pringles it is.5-.

Berlin

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005

Well, pictures are up on this page.
But first there’s a small video (3 MB) I took on a brigde close to the hotel here.
And with Google Earth’s help, you can see how nicely accurate it is (look closely at where the movie starts, and you see the distinct building features. Neat eh ?
google berlin

Back

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005

Ich war ein Berliner, for 5 days, at least. Or 3 full days, and 2 halve ones, to be exact.
Weather wasn’t as bad as CNN forecasted. It was actually a pretty hot and sunny weekend, with only a shower on Friday.
So, the lesson learned ? The usual bradwurst and sauerkraut joke is very much outdated. Currently, the majority of the sausage sold is the currywurst, basically a bradwurst, which is actually just a lot of dough, and barely has any meat in it (I even dare to pass these around at any vegetarian party), and some curry sauce on top of it. The sauerkraut is totally gone. So, if you hear someone joking around with these factually challenged attempts at fun, for the sake of world peace, correct it.
And back to Counter-Strike, which means, pictures will be here, but later. Much later.

US Box Office

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2005

Swapping places, the Wedding Crashers takes the top spot with $20 million, leaving last week’s topper, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, behind with $16.4 million. Both are at their third week of release with Charlie cashing in more dough, a cume of $148 million, against the $116 million the Wedding Crashers cashed in.
At three, a cheapoh kiddy superhero movie, which brings back Kurt Russell to Walt Disney, where he started his career, with Sky High, earning a mediocre $14.6 million. At four, flying totally under the radar (especially if you calculate it with the $130 million budget), is Stealth with $13.3 million.
At 5, a comedy starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, Must Love Dogs barks together $12.9 million.
Last week’s bomb (just like this week’s Stealth, also from Sony Pictures) is a truly sinking island, The Island is now worth $5.96 million, good for a number 7 spot and a total cume of $24.3 million (still short some $100 million to break even).